Pence: Comey firing ‘the right decision at the right time’

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James B. Comey was the “right decision at the right time” and that Mr. Comey had lost the confidence of the American people.

“The president made the right decision at the right time,” Mr. Pence told reporters on Capitol Hill.

“Let me be very clear that the president’s decision to accept the recommendation of the deputy attorney general and the attorney general to remove Director Comey as the head of the FBI was based solely and exclusively on his commitment to the best interests of the American people, and to ensuring that the FBI has the trust and confidence of the people of this nation,” Mr. Pence said.

Mr. Comey had recently confirmed that the FBI was looking into possible connections between Mr. Trump’s associates and Russian officials during last year’s campaign.

But Mr. Pence said Mr. Comey informed the president multiple times that Mr. Trump was not personally under investigation, and relayed a past quote from former Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper in which Mr. Clapper said he hadn’t seen evidence of collusion between the Trump camp and the Russians.

“The simple fact is Director Comey had lost the confidence of the American people,” Mr. Pence said.

Mr. Pence said the president is in the process of evaluating potential replacements.